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Sam Berger @SamBerger_DC
, 6 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
DOJ just announced it has arrested a Russian agent who was working during 2016 to set up a secret backchannel between the Kremlin and GOP through the NRA.
justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
The Russian agent, in discussing the 2016 election, said the Republicans "are for us" while the Democrats are not. Then she said "Our move here is very important."
And here's the part where the Russian agent talks about the GOP supporting Russia, while the Democrats do not.
In October 2016, right before the election, the Russian spy reached out to her handler in Moscow: "Time will tell. We made our bet. I am following our game." She then says that the GOP is supporting Russia.

What actions did Russia take as part of its "bet" on the GOP?
Worth noting that the Russian spy and her Moscow handler met with Donald Trump Jr during the election.
nytimes.com/2018/07/16/us/…
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I think this aspect of Trump's proposal to order DoD to illegally build a wall has not gotten enough attention: it would require the military to *seize a massive amount of property* from states, tribes, and private citizens.
Trump is proposing to use emergency authority to make DoD build a wall. This raises a whole host of legal issues b/c it's not, in fact, legal. One of them is that the military can only build things on property "under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department."
So if the military is going to build over 1,000 miles of border wall, then it needs to have "jurisdiction" over that land. And that's where Trump's "military version of eminent domain" comes in. It's the sort of thing you expect to hear in a dictatorship, not America.
Read 3 tweets
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Great scoop from @KFaulders, @Santucci, and @Elizabeth_McLau. As a lawyer at OMB, I worked on appropriations issues all the time. What the Trump administration is discussing here is illegal, plain and simple.
Thread 👇
Under the Anti-Deficiency Act, it's a crime for federal agencies to spend $ on something Congress hasn't authorized - it's the statutory means for enforcing Congress' constitutional power of the purse. The Trump team is trying to sidestep the law by using emergency powers. /2
How? 10 USC 2808 says that w/ "a declaration of war or...a natl emergency...that requires use of the armed forces, SecDef...may undertake military construction projects...not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces." /3
Read 10 tweets
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I helped manage the 2013 shutdown at OMB, so believe me when I say that they get exponentially harder to manage as time goes on. Agencies run out of carryover $, grant recipients able to cover a short time w/o federal funds can't any more, and unexpected issues crop up.
This type of management challenge is hard enough when you have a competent, committed group of people doing their best. But when you're relying on the most incompetent administration in modern American history...that's a recipe for disaster.
Great ex. from @meghanncuniff, John Waters, and @JoelAchenbach: to limit political blowback, Trump is keeping parks open w/o enough personnel. It exposes parks to damage and visitors to danger. But WH put politics over safety and our national treasures.
washingtonpost.com/national/in-sh…
Read 4 tweets

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HELL YES
PANAMA PAPERS four Indictments
THANK YOU @PanamaPapers
👇🏻Indictment 👇🏻
justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
cc @LincolnsBible @ericgarland @TrueFactsStated @LouiseMensch @ninaandtito @xtrixcyclex @lauferlaw
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DOJ just announced that before he left office yesterday, Sessions signed a final memo outlining new “principles and procedures” for consent decrees with state and local governments. justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
Changing DOJ’s approach to consent decrees had been one of Sessions’ big obsessions as AG — and one the was particularly aimed at reversing Holder/Lynch policies — so it’s not surprising to see him taking one last swipe before he left.
Consent decrees are a method of ending (or avoiding) litigation in a way that includes court approval and the court maintaining oversight to ensure that the parties are meeting their obligation under the agreement.
Read 4 tweets
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THREAD

#Butina arrest breakdown

#Butina #Trump #Russia #Torshin #Treason
1.#Butina wrote an e-mail that said #Torshin had direct contact with Putin about their operations to build up ties with the #USA Religious Right

#Butina #Trump #Russia #Torshin #Treason

2.Early October 2016, #USA PERSON 1 described @NRA as a "conduit" and "VERY private line of communication" between #Kremlin and #GOP leaders, thats roughly ONE MONTH BEFORE ELECTION

#Butina #Trump #Russia #Torshin #Treason

justice.gov/opa/press-rele… …

Read 11 tweets
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This FBI affidavit describes Maria Butina’s efforts on behalf of a Russian govt official to influence American politicians through coordination with a domestic gun rights organization, presumably the NRA. justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
U.S. Person 2 will probably want to get a lawyer.
U.S. Person 1 will probably want to get several lawyers and a priest.
Read 11 tweets
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💥Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States - Mariia Butina, 29, a Russian citizen residing in Washington D.C., was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
justice.gov/opa/pr/russian…
Mariia Butina Criminal complaint - Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of a Foreign Government - from 2015 or earlier up to the present
Item 2d: To infiltrate organizations active in US politics in an effort to advance the interests of the Russian Federation
justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
Affidavit in support of criminal complaint - Mariia Butina
US Person 1 met Butina in Moscow around 2013 and worked with Butina to jointly arrange introductions to US persons, including organization promoting gun rights (aka the NRA)
justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
Read 16 tweets

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